Gearing.



A. WAHLE.

GEARING.

APPLICATION FILED MAILB, 1912. 1,052,776; v Patented Feb. 11,1913.

3 SHEET S-SHEET l.

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A. WAHLE.

GEARING.

I APPLICATION FILED MAR. B, 1912. 1,052,776. Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PH CO.,WASHINUTON D c A. WAHLB.

GBARING.

APPLICATION FILED MA'ILE, 1912, 1,052,776. Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

TE STAES ADOLPH WAI-ILE, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO DAVENPORT WASHING MACHINE COMPANY, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

GEARING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AnonPH WAHLE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Davenport, in the county of Scott and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gearing; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in gearing and consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The improvement in gearing, as shown herein, is applied to a washing machine and is used for imparting continuous rotary movement to the rolls of a wringer mounted on the washing machine tub, the gearing ineluding a reversing mechanism for driving the wringer rolls in either direction and for disengaging said wringer rolls from operative connection with the rest of the gearing at will.

Referring now to the drawings-Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a washing machine provided with my improved gearing; Fig. 2 is a view representing a rear elevation of the washing machine, the plane of said elevation being at right angles to the plane of the elevation shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the washing machine; Fig. 4 is a view representing on an enlarged scale a partial vertical section through the gearing in a plane indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view representing a vertical section through Fig. 4 in a plane indicated by the line 5-5 thereof; Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of a rocking bearing plate forming part of the reversing mechanism.

Referring now to that embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawing, 10 indicates a support, in this case, a washing machine tub comprising a tub 10* supported on upright legs 11, 11, which are held in proper spaced relation by diagonally-arranged cross-bars 11 11. The tub is provided with a top comprising spaced, parallel, fixed marginal parts 12, 12, a fixed marginal part 12 arranged at right angles to the first-named marginal parts, and a lid 12 hinged to the fixed marginal part 12 and adapted to close the space between the parallel marginal parts 12, 12.

Located in a plane back of the tub and extending parallel to the shaft 17 carried by the hinged tub lid, is a main driving shaft 28, which, as shown, is in length equal substantially to the diameter of the tub and has bearing in plates 29, 30 attached to the tub body near the ends of said shaft. The shaft 28 has rigidly secured to it a pulley 31. The pulley 31 is adapted to be driven from a suitable source of power and, as shown herein, said pulley is connected by a belt 32 to the driving pulley 33 of an electric motor 34 supported below the tub body. Said motor is carried on a base-board 35 secured in the angle of the cross-braces 11, 11 that brace the tub legs apart. A pinion 36 is keyed to the shaft 28 adjacent the pulley 31, said pinion meshing with a large gear 37 fixed to a shaft 37 that extends parallel to the main driving shaft 28 above the tub top and has bearing near its ends in the plates 29 and 30. The pinion 36 and the gear 37 are protected by a casing or shell 37 which incloses them, and is attached to the bearing plate 29.

38 indicates a wringer of familiar construction arranged in a plane parallel to the main driving shaft 28 and driven shaft 37, and having upper and lower rollers 39, 40 mounted in upright end pieces 40 40, which are secured to the tub body in the usual manner. The said shaft 37 extends through suitable apertures in said upright end pieces 40*, 40 At the end of the shaft 37 opposite the end to which the large gear 37 is attached, is keyed a gear 41. The lower roller 40 of the wringer has a shaft 42 which is prolonged beyond the end of the wringer frame and has keyed to it a gear 43 which is located above and in the vertical plane of the said gear 41 on the shaft 37*. On the wringer shaft 42 intermediate the adjacent end piece 40 of the wringer frame and the gear 43 is rotatively mounted a swinging bearing member or plate 44 having studs 45, 46 on which are rotatively carried like gears 45, 46 that are located in the vertical plane of the gear 43 and are in mesh at all times with said gear 43.

47 indicates an idle gear journaled on a suitable stud carried by the bearing plate 30. Said idle gear is of the same diameter and has the same number of teeth as the gear 41 on the driven shaft 37 and is located adjacent to the said gear 41 and in mesh therewith, with its central axis in an arc described about the central axis of the wringer shaft 42 and containing the axis of the gear 41. The several parts are so arranged that by swinging the bearing plate 44 in one direction on the wringer shaft 42, the gear 45 may be brought into mesh with the gear 41 (see Fig. 4), and by swinging said plate in the opposite direction, the gear 46 may be brought into mesh with the gear 47, the gear 45 at the same time being withdrawn fro-m mesh with the gear 41. With the shaft 37 and the gear 41 thereon continuously rotating in one direction, continuous rotary movement in the opposite direction is imparted to the adjacent idle gear 47. As clearly appears from a consideration of Fig. 5, when the bearing plate 44 is I swung so as to bring the gear 45 into mesh 7 shaft 42 in one direction and when the with the gear 41, rotative movement will be imparted to the gear 43 and to the wringer gear 46 is brought into mesh with the gear 47, rotative movement will be imparted to the said gear 43 and to the wringer shaft 42 in the opposite direction. When the bearing plate 44 is intermediate these two pistons no movement at all will be imparted to the wringer shaft 42 which will remain at rest.

The several gears are inclosed by a suitably formed gear casing 50 which has a bearing 50 to support the prolonged end of the wringer shaft 42. The said gear casing 50 has a lug 50 at the bottom attached by a bolt 30, to a projecting boss 30 on the bearing plate 30, which bolt passes through an aperture in the adjacent end piece 40 of the wringer and rigidly secures the gear casing and the bearing plate 30 to said end-piece. At the upper end of the gear casing 50 are provided laterally spaced arms 50 which embrace and are secured to the said end-piece 40 of the wringer.

At the upper end of the gear casing is provided an upright lug 50 against the inner face of which is pivoted a lever 51. Said lever 51 has formed integral with it a fulcrum pin 51 which projects through an aperture in the lug 50 and a coiled spring 51 is interposed between the outer face of said lug and a fixed part of said fulcrumed pin beyond said lug, which spring is adapted to hold said lever in any position in which it is placed. Said lever 51 carries at one end a pin 52 which engages in a slot 53 in a radial arm 53 carried by the hearing plate 44. By swinging said lever 51, as is readily apparent from a consideration of Fig. 5, the bearing plate 44 may be swung in either direction in the manner above described.

45 46 indicate stop lugs which, as shown in the drawings, are made integral with the respective bearing pins 45, 46 of the gears 45, 46 Said stops are adapted to strike fixed parts on the stationary bearing plate 30 adjacent the respective gears 41 and 47 and limit the movement of the swinging bearing plate 44 when the said gears 45*, and 46 are brought into proper engagement with their associated gears 41 and 47. Said stops prevent the gears from being brought into too forcible engagement and thus save the wear and breaking of the gear teeth.

The gearing described herein is simple in construction and efiicient in operation. All of the gearing is amply protected so that it is particularly adaptable for use with power washing machines which are usually operated by women and must, therefore, be especially free from the possibility of clothing or parts of the body being caught between engaging gear teeth. The lever for throwing the wringer into operation in either direction is arranged at the right hand side of the machine when it is most readily grasped by the operator standing in front of the washing machine tub.

By reason of the arrangement and con struction of the hinges of the lid, as described, an increased clearance at the end of the dolly shaft is provided when the hinged lid is in open position so that ample room is afforded for passing the clothes from the tub to the wringer.

For convenience, a hand wheel 42 is fixed to the outer end of the prolonged shaft 42 of the lower wringer roll since it may at times be desired to revolvie the wringer rolls through a greater or less angle without operatively connecting them with the power mechanism.

While in describing one embodiment of my invention, I have shown and described certain details of mechanical construction and arrangement, it is to be understood that my invention is in no way limited except as pointed out in the appended claims.

I make no claim to the gearing mechanism for driving the dolly shaft, the same being covered in a divisional application filed June 3rd, 1912, Serial No. 701,440.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a shaft adapted for continuous rotative movement in one direction, an operating shaft, an oscillatory hearing plate mounted on said operating shaft, spaced bearing pinions carried by said hearing plate, means intermediate each pinion and said operating shaft for imparting rotative movement of said pinions to said oper-' ating shaft, a pair of oppositely rotating gears driven from said continuously rotative shaft, and means for swinging said bearing plate to bring the respective pinions carried thereby into separate engagement with one or the other of said oppositely rotating gears and into an intermediate position.

2. In combination, a support, a shaft adapted for continuous rotation in one direction mounted on said support, an operating shaft spaced from and extending parallel to said continuously rotative shaft, a gear fixed to said operating shaft, a bearing plate mounted on said operating shaft and adapted to be swung in either direction thereon spaced pinions carried by said bearing plate each in mesh with said gear,

a second gear fixed to said continuously rotative shaft in the plane of said first-named gear and its pinions, and an idle gear in mesh with said second gear having its central axis in the arc of a circle described about the central axis of said operating shaft and containing the central axis of said second gear, said second gear and said idle gear being adapted to be separately engaged by said respective pinions.

3. In combination, a shaft adapted for continuous rotative movement in one direction, an operating shaft, an oscillatory bearing plate mounted on said operating shaft, spaced bearing pinions carried by said bearing plate, means intermediate each pinion and said operating shaft for imparting rotative movement of said pinions to said operating shaft, a pair of oppositely rotating gears driven from said continuously rotative shaft, means for swinging said bearing plate to bring the respective pinions carried thereby into separate engagement with one or the other of said oppositely rotating gears and into an intermediate position, a lever for swinging said bearing plate to either of its extreme positions, and means for retaining said bearing plate in any position in which it is placed.

In testimony, that 'I, claim the foregoing as my own invention I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 5th day of March A. D. 1912.

ADOLPH WAHLE.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. SGHROEDER, HERMAN H. WAHLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

